38 Weeks and Counting



Mommy and baby sister at 38 weeks!

Stats - 38 weeks down...14 days to go! Baby girl's due date is August 13, 2011. I keep feeling that she will arrive late - just like her big sister, but of course, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't be much longer than a few days post due date. Elise was 10 days late, and I remember doing everything imaginable to try and get her labor going, because I did not want to be induced. Thankfully, labor started a few days before my scheduled induction. Baby girl, we are so excited to finally meet you, so please don't keep us waiting too long!! 

 

Weight gain - I have gained a healthy 26 pounds so far. With nearly two weeks left, I will be slightly under the 30 pound mark and I'm pretty happy with that. I know that 25-35 pounds is considered the normal weight gain for the average pregnancy, so no complaints here. 

How I'm feeling - Uncomfortable...yet excited as ever to meet our new little doll. At 32 weeks, baby girl turned head down, so I've been feeling her kicks and jabs up higher towards my upper stomach and ribs. I've also had quite a bit more Braxton-Hicks contractions. I rarely had them with Elise. That little stinker didn't turn head down until 39 weeks. However, I was happy that she did finally turn (the day before my scheduled c-section - talk about timing).  Baby girl kicks and moves around like crazy! I'm constantly staring at my belly and watching in awe as she always pushes out her legs and feet. It is also fun to poke at her legs and feet, because she will always kick and push back in response. Elise layed her head on my stomach the other day, which of course, was met by squirming and kicking from baby girl. Elise exclaimed, "Hey! Newbie is kicking me.", it was so funny. She has slowed down a bit in the last few weeks, as she's running out of room, but she still manages to stay active as ever. 

Sleeping is very difficult. I now sleep wedged between two pillows, one for my stomach and one for my back. I've always been a back sleeper, and as any pregnant women can attest, sleeping on your side is not comfortable when a huge 7+ pound baby flops to that same side and decides to squirm all night. Baby girl is very active at night and often keeps me up; most likely all in preparation for the many sleepless nights ahead.

Food cravings - I've been eating a lot more sweets this time around. I do feel a bit guilty because typically I don't like candy or sweets much at all. Dark chocolate cranberries and frozen yogurt have been my favorite treats. However, I've indulged on cheesecake, cookies and candy bars more often than I would like to admit! I'm sure baby girl enjoys the sweets too; or at least that's how I'm going to justify it.

Special moments - I would have to say, that the best feeling is when Elise asks to see her baby sister and then showers her with hugs and kisses. She is very aware that "newbie" will be here soon. We keep telling her that baby sister's birthday is coming up, and she gets super excited and likes to sing her "Happy Birthday". I know that once baby sister arrives, it will be a bit of an adjustment for Elise, but I think she will really enjoy bonding with her for the very first time. Elise understands that her new baby sister is a part of our family, and I can already see the deep love she has for her.

Baby girl's name - We still do not have a final name picked out, but we do have a list of about ten names that made the cut. We've decided to choose her name on her birthday. I've told daddy that he gets to name her, which I know he is very excited about!

We love you so much tiny baby girl. Let the countdown to your birthday begin! :)

24-Month Update - Little Girl in the Making

Adorable little girl! Her hair is getting so long :)

Admiring her outfit in the mirror

Little miss sunshine

Our baby girl is growing up so quickly! Since turning two, she is quickly becoming quite the little lady. One of the biggest changes we've seen over the past few months, is her fierce independence and desire to be a "big girl" and do nearly everything on her own. The phrase, "I do it myself" has become a mainstay around our household. Whether it be picking out her own outfit and putting it on, choosing what she wants for dinner, getting into the carseat herself, picking out her own books for us to read, Elise is adamant on making her own choices and decisions. We always have to make sure we give her options, otherwise she gets very vocal in declaring her independence.

 

 

Showing off her newly painted nails

 

Pink toes!

 

 

She is quickly transforming into the ultimate girly girl. As of late, she always wants to wear dresses and skirts and she has to have pretty "clippies" in her hair at all times. She recently wanted her toes and nails painted and asked to wear a necklace and lipgloss just like mommy. She also carries around her little Tinkerbell purse, and looks pretty darn cute doing so. It surprises me just how much she loves dressing herself and matching her outfits. Aside from just the girly things, it is really adorable seeing just how much she looks up to us and wants to emulate everything mom and dad do.

Clippy in the hair, bright baby blues

Playing outdoors in the sunshine

Now that the weather has finally warmed up, Elise loves being outdoors. We can barely keep her inside. Everyday after preschool, she wants to go out and play on her new playground and every weekend she wants to be in the pool swimming. She certainly is a 100% summer girl; she loves the warmth and sunshine!

Hide-and-seek in the backyard

Her signature cheese face - so cute/funny!

Elise has been at Montessori daycare for over four months now. She absolutely loves it there. She has lots of little friends and loves telling us about everything she did in school each day. She especially enjoys playing outdoors with all the other kids. Her vocabulary, which has always been ahead of the curve, has grown twice as expansive over the past few months. She sings her ABCs all the way through and has even started identifing letters. She counts to twenty perfectly and knows all her shapes and colors. She communicates very well and is extremely talkative and social. I'm happy that she enjoys preschool, and feel that the education and social skills she's gained there, will have her extremely well prepared for kindergarten.

In her Montessori uniform

Since turning two, Elise's tantrums have become more mangeable and less frequent. She's become an expert communicator and is quickly learning that giving us a hug and saying sorry is much less effort than throwing a 10 minute tantrum. Don't get me wrong, she still has her little tyrant moments, but now understands that mommy and daddy won't tolerate tantrums anymore, so her outbursts are much shorter. The biggest change, has been in her ability to communicate her feelings to us. She's now at the age, where she understands the difference between good and bad behavior, so after she calms down we always make sure to explain to her why she was a given a time out, and then give her a chance to say sorry and then give us hugs. So far, this routine has worked fairly well, so we're sticking with it.

 

 

Watch out for that throwing arm!

Now for a major update - Elise has shown a big interest in potty training and has spent the past few weeks using the big girl potty! She has the used the potty for multiple days in a row now, both for #1 and #2. Let me tell you, as much as this will one day embarass her to read, the first #2 is a huge celebratory moment for any parent. She still goes in her pull-ups more than the using the potty, but we've made huge progress in only a matter of a few weeks. Her incentive, aka - our tools for bribery, are Hershey's kisses and M&Ms. She loves getting a reward each time she uses the potty and we love the fact she's getting closer to going diaper free. We would LOVE to have her out of diapers (or somewhere close) before little sister's arrival.

Weight: 29 lbs 8 1/2 oz (82nd percentile)


Height: 35 3/4 inches (Above 90th percentile)

Elise's Second Birthday - Tinkerbell Party

Tinkerbell birthday party

Her lovely handmade birthday banner

Tons of Tinkerbell decor

Birthday cards

Tabletop decor, flowers and treats 

Dessert Table

Enjoying her party

Her beautiful Tinkerbell birthday cake - she LOVED it!

Adorable birthday girl

Make a wish

 She blew out her candles like a pro

Proud birthday girl

Yummy cake

Elise had such a great time celebrating her second birthday party with all her family and friends! I'm sure it comes as no surprise that little miss Elise specifically requested a "Tinkerbell party". I've said it before and will say it again, Elise is obsessed with everything Tinkerbell. It all started with a little Tinkerbell doll we got her back when she was 15-months-old. She carried that doll with her everywhere and nobody was allowed to take it out of her hands. Since then, she's branched out into an entire array of Tinkerbell themed clothing, toys and accessories.

Mommy was happy to oblige her requests, and had lots of fun planning and decorating with grandma. We handmade her birthday banner and enjoyed coordinating colors and party ideas. The moment Elise walked in and saw all her decorations, she was in awe. She made her rounds to find all the Tinkerbell decorations, each time exclaiming, "look Tinkerbell is at my party!". She was just beyond pleased, which made us so happy.

We bought her a brand new playground for her birthday, and she had lots of fun playing on it with all the other kids. She was all smiles when everyone sang her happy birthday, and she blew out her birthday candles like a little pro. Her cake turned out absolutely fantastic! Thank you to Cake and Candy Specialties for doing such an amazing job. We loved the adorable Tinkerbell decorations and it tasted delicious. Also, a big thanks to all our family and friends for making her day so special and for sharing so many of your great photos!

She loved her Tinkerbell figurines

Watch Tinkerbell fly

So cute and playful!

Yep, everyone wanted to pose with Tink

Elise's new playground

Having fun with the kiddos

 Daddy, Mommy and baby sis

Presents

All smiles while opening her gifts

  

She loved all her gifts!

Big smiles from the birthday girl; she approved!

Tinkerbell aftermath :)

As usual, we took tons of photos. For the full album, click the link below.

Elise's 2nd Birthday Party

Happy Fourth of July 2011

Our family of four on July 4, 2011

Elise had a fantastic 4th of July weekend, swimming and watching fireworks light up the night sky. I have to say, we officially have a little firebug on our hands! Elise loved playing with the colorful sparklers and when one burned out she was already on to the next saying, "I want more sparklers" and, of course, she had to choose which color she wanted. She also had everyone laughing because each time she heard a firework explode, her eyes widened, she looked around at all of us, put up her pointer finger and exclaimed, "You hear that...you hear that...that's firework!".

We went and watched the Citrus Heights fireworks again this year. Elise had fun watching the colorful display surrounded by family. Mommy enjoyed taking lots of firework photos. I got a few clear shots of the colorful firework finale, however, when it comes to firework photos, I find myself enjoying the ones that didn't quite turn out as expected. The photos where the camera moved, and captured the light in a more abstract way, are always the most interesting to me.  

The Fourth of July has extra special importance to us as July 4, 2009 was Elise's first holiday. She was only one-week-old on her first 4th and I still remember her all cuddled up, and sleeping in her baby swing while we watched fireworks outside. She was so tiny back then; it's hard to believe she's now two-years-old and playing with sparklers. We love our little summer girl so much!